Using that math, since 180,000 mad cows in England resulted in 150 victims, that would result in a 1 in 300,000,000 chance of MCD infecting a human. Of course, the odds are much lower considering the recall that would take place, making the odds infintessimal.

Given the scale of beef consumption in the US (because Americans consume beef daily - and yes, it’s American beef) testing on a large scale is simply unfeasible.

Scientists point out that MCD is simply a concern of the past, and we’d be better off focusing on concerns that have a statistical probablility such as e coli. Now, in Korea, this would be a much more realistic concern given the genreally poor handling of food products - refridgerated trucks with the power shut off, and so forth. US beef is completely safe and testing is more than adequate.

You know what “meat and bone meal” is. Japanese consumers are very much concerned about the practice of US farmers who feed the chickens with meat and bone meal first then collect the excretions and feed the cows with them. By this practice, prion in the meat and bone meal can infect cows. What is the use of meat and bone meal other than this, anyway?

Japan tested all cattle and prevented 21 BSE cattle from being distributed in the market. Japanese think the money is well spent. If the US stick to 0.1% sample testing, by the time the first BSE cow is detected by the sample testing, expected 999 BSE cows will have been distributed in the market. Even so, you would argue that eating BSE infected beef is just OK. I disagree and I do not want to be the unlucky one who eats such beef.

http://www.choicesmagazine.org.....5-2-03.htm

exerpt: “Although the US response to BSE can be critiqued in some areas, the overall response appears to be far more efficient than, for example, that of Japan, which removed all cattle over 30 months from the food chain, instituted universal BSE testing, and banned meat and bone meal for all uses. US policy makers appear to have considered the costs and benefits of various approaches and recognized that the risk to human health is extremely low.”

“How low is the risk? In the United Kingdom, the human version of BSE has claimed around 150 victims. However, they have had more than 180,000 BSE infected cows, most of which were found before the connection to human disease was recognized. Estimates of the total number of animals infected in the United Kingdom run to as high as two million. Had Canadian and US authorities taken no precautions to eliminate SRM tissues from food, four Canadian BSE cases might have led to 0.004 human cases in the next 10-15 years. The human health risk from BSE is probably far lower than the risk of choking on a toothbrush.”

Fortunately for Korea, stories from Korea do not make the US news. But can you imagine how incensed the American public would be if they saw these lies being printed every day defaming America and the rampant anti-Americanism in Korea. You’d see a huge backlash against Korean products that would bring Samsung, Hyundai and Kia to their knees.

So Koreans might as well awake from their fantasy world and face the facts. Without America’s goodwill, the Republic of Korea would not have amounted to very much.

Taiwan is not analogous?

As a result the risk of BSE in the food supply is virtually nonexistent, and this is what matters.

On the other side, an $800,000 per year (give or take pre ban) export market of sales to the US is a drop in the bucket compared to the other way around.

It is a non-tariff trade barrier but in light of the magnitude (or lack of), it would hardly make an impact on either market. It could be seen as a policy statement. Isn’t international trade fun?

In essence, the Japanese exports of beef is minuscule and banning it would hardly create a ripple in either domestic or international markets.

In regards to the military spending, I think the reference was to the cost-sharing percentage with the US military. Japan and Germany have historically paid a much more equitable share of the costs of hosting the US (iirc). It was a common topic when President (Oh)No(!) took control…wanting an equal relationship but not wanting to assume equal costs.

(don’t quote me on this crap…I am not too sure about the exact numbers).